It was 2 years ago when I decided to switch to AMD after 20 years of Intel based PC ownership. Frankly my first crossover is very rough. Had to resort to Windows Insider program because of performance issue with 1700X and Shadow of Mordor. Anxiously waiting for BIOS update so my listed memory speed is supported. Confusion with the power state compared to Intel. It's all so rough, I even decided to switched back to Intel 1 year ago. Yet Intel kind of sitting idly with its product line while AMD keeps improving.
My jump to Ryzen refresh, 2700X, is accompanied with form factor upsize also. I usually only use mini-ITX platform, and the 1700X before runs on Asrock AB350 ITX Gaming motherboard. I'm worried the 105W TDP will take quite a beefy cooling system so I go bigger as well, opting for Fractal Design Mini C TG and MSI B450M Mortar (still trying to keep things compact). The motherboard oversized VRM heatsink works great, effectively transferring heat from the VRM. Alas, that heat means I couldn't use my old Corsair H80i which I configured to exhaust since the heat soak from the VRM makes the radiator had to work overtime. Changing from GTX 1080 Founders Edition to RTX 2080 third party downdraft also makes the H80i useless since it now ingested hot air from the GPU. So I switched to air cooler again, and keep temperature in check again. On a side note, I wanted to go with Noctua NH-D15, but the front fan interferes with my Corsair Vengeance RGB module. The Dark Rock Pro 4 although performs great is a pain to assemble and seeing the assembly it's going to be a pain when I want to clean it.
Can't wait to see what Zen 2 brings.
My spec:
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Looks nice man! I've heard those Dark Rock 4 coolers are good, but if you didn't mention it, I wouldn't even know you had RGB RAM. Maybe save the loose change for a while and get a larger AIO (240 or 280) sometime later?
I would have loved to see some pics of that ITX board with that Dark Rock on it before you put it in.
I love pics of ITX boards being used in silly situations out of necessity! Here's a pic of when I first got my Corsair 750D. The only board I had working at the time was an Asrock Z87 board (which now belongs to my wife, Kayla).
